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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Confessions of a Produce Waster

Tuesday morning I opened the fridge and groaned. My produce bins could have been turned over to a science lab. Shredded coleslaw mix was turning an interesting shade of yellow, half of a green pepper had squishy spots, there were a few over the hill lemon slices and a sad mound of brown lettuce.

Penicillin was discovered with less mold than has appeared in my refrigerator.

I tossed all of the offending vegetables. I felt guilty. I'd spent good money on them, and this wasn't my first go-round of throwing away produce. How many dollars have I basically tossed in the trash over the years? Please don't tell me! I know it must be a lot!

My intentions are good. I plan on eating baby carrots for an afternoon snack, and I'm certain I'll throw together a salad with dinner. But more times than not, I ignore the carrots and get tired of having salads. I'm not proud. Soldiers suffering from scurvy in the Civil War would have cried at my waste. Or they would have shot me. I'm not sure.

After my produce purge, I noticed a full bunch of bananas past their prime on my counter. I already felt terrible about wasting the above vegetables--I couldn't live with myself if I threw away all those bananas too!

Thankfully, there are many uses for old bananas. I have several delicious recipes, but I decided to get creative and flipped to Pinterest for inspiration.

Thirty minutes later, I pulled twenty-four banana muffins out of the oven, and they were very tasty, if I do say so myself. If you're interested in the recipe, I've linked the pin HERE.

How often do you throw out brown, squishy or moldy produce? Tell me I'm not alone!

*

Finding Her Way Home

Cozy Lake Endwell, Michigan, seems the perfect place
for Jade Emerson's new T-shirt shop—and perhaps a fresh start. After a lifetime
of letdowns, she is finally ready to face the future on her own. So when local
wilderness guide Bryan Sheffield offers to help Jade overcome a past trauma,
she warns him they will remain strictly business. But soon, with the help of
Bryan's big, complicated family and a boisterous St. Bernard named Teeny,
Jade's frozen heart begins to thaw. Now Jade wonders if she can return the
favor, bringing a little happiness to a man who has long kept his own sorrow
under wraps…

7 comments:

Don't hate me. I rarely, if ever, have to throw out produce. Maybe I'm good at judging how much to buy or more diligent in serving lots of it for suppers. I also do snack on those baby carrots. However, I found that salad fixings are not big movers, so I don't buy them any more.

You're not alone, Jill. I have the best of intentions when I buy certain types of produce, however it sometimes fails to make it to the table. By the time I decide to use said produce, it's usually wilted, squishy or growing strange microorganisms. Not a pretty sight.

I have thrown away my share of produce. I didn't do it much when our kids were still at home, but now that there are just two of us, it happens more often. I buy veggies to serve with meals, but sometimes our daughter will invite us over at the last minute. So there go my meal plans, or something else comes up and we don't eat at home. Several days later, the veggies aren't edible. Sigh. I do only buy two bananas at a time.

Mindy, we truly are sisters separated at birth! I'm the exact same way!

Merrillee, It must be so challenging to go from cooking big meals to small ones. I have a hard time figuring out the right amount to make! And I say, always go to your daughter's for dinner! No cooking and good company. :)

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